Medical Dialogues
  • Dermatology
Login Register
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
Login Register
  • MD Brand Connect
  • Vaccine Hub
  • MDTV
    • Breaking News
    • Medical News Today
    • Health News Today
    • Latest
    • Journal Club
    • Medico Legal Update
    • Latest Webinars
    • MD Shorts
    • Health Dialogues
  • Fact Check
  • Health Dialogues
Medical Dialogues
  • Medical News & Guidelines
      • Anesthesiology
      • Cardiology and CTVS
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diabetes and Endocrinology
      • ENT
      • Gastroenterology
      • Medicine
      • Nephrology
      • Neurology
      • Obstretics-Gynaecology
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopaedics
      • Pediatrics-Neonatology
      • Psychiatry
      • Pulmonology
      • Radiology
      • Surgery
      • Urology
      • Laboratory Medicine
      • Diet
      • Nursing
      • Paramedical
      • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
      • Doctor News
      • Government Policies
      • Hospital & Diagnostics
      • International Health News
      • Medical Organization News
      • Medico Legal News
      • NBE News
      • NMC News
  • Fact Check
      • Bone Health Fact Check
      • Brain Health Fact Check
      • Cancer Related Fact Check
      • Child Care Fact Check
      • Dental and oral health fact check
      • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
      • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
      • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
      • Fitness fact check
      • Gut health fact check
      • Heart health fact check
      • Kidney health fact check
      • Medical education fact check
      • Men's health fact check
      • Respiratory fact check
      • Skin and hair care fact check
      • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
      • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
    • Homeopathy
    • Siddha
    • Unani
    • Yoga
  • State News
      • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
      • Andhra Pradesh
      • Arunachal Pradesh
      • Assam
      • Bihar
      • Chandigarh
      • Chattisgarh
      • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
      • Daman and Diu
      • Delhi
      • Goa
      • Gujarat
      • Haryana
      • Himachal Pradesh
      • Jammu & Kashmir
      • Jharkhand
      • Karnataka
      • Kerala
      • Ladakh
      • Lakshadweep
      • Madhya Pradesh
      • Maharashtra
      • Manipur
      • Meghalaya
      • Mizoram
      • Nagaland
      • Odisha
      • Puducherry
      • Punjab
      • Rajasthan
      • Sikkim
      • Tamil Nadu
      • Telangana
      • Tripura
      • Uttar Pradesh
      • Uttrakhand
      • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
      • Ayush Education News
      • Dentistry Education News
      • Medical Admission News
      • Medical Colleges News
      • Medical Courses News
      • Medical Universities News
      • Nursing education News
      • Paramedical Education News
      • Study Abroad
  • Industry
      • Health Investment News
      • Health Startup News
      • Medical Devices News
      • Pharma News
      • Pharmacy Education News
      • Industry Perspective
  • MDTV
      • Health Dialogues MDTV
      • Health News today MDTV
      • Latest Videos MDTV
      • Latest Webinars MDTV
      • MD shorts MDTV
      • Medical News Today MDTV
      • Medico Legal Update MDTV
      • Top Videos MDTV
      • Health Perspectives MDTV
      • Journal Club MDTV
      • Medical Dialogues Show
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
LoginRegister
Medical Dialogues
LoginRegister
  • Home
  • Medical news & Guidelines
    • Anesthesiology
    • Cardiology and CTVS
    • Critical Care
    • Dentistry
    • Dermatology
    • Diabetes and Endocrinology
    • ENT
    • Gastroenterology
    • Medicine
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Obstretics-Gynaecology
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Orthopaedics
    • Pediatrics-Neonatology
    • Psychiatry
    • Pulmonology
    • Radiology
    • Surgery
    • Urology
    • Laboratory Medicine
    • Diet
    • Nursing
    • Paramedical
    • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
    • Doctor News
    • Government Policies
    • Hospital & Diagnostics
    • International Health News
    • Medical Organization News
    • Medico Legal News
    • NBE News
    • NMC News
  • Fact Check
    • Bone Health Fact Check
    • Brain Health Fact Check
    • Cancer Related Fact Check
    • Child Care Fact Check
    • Dental and oral health fact check
    • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
    • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
    • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
    • Fitness fact check
    • Gut health fact check
    • Heart health fact check
    • Kidney health fact check
    • Medical education fact check
    • Men's health fact check
    • Respiratory fact check
    • Skin and hair care fact check
    • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
    • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
      • Ayurveda Giuidelines
      • Ayurveda News
    • Homeopathy
      • Homeopathy Guidelines
      • Homeopathy News
    • Siddha
      • Siddha Guidelines
      • Siddha News
    • Unani
      • Unani Guidelines
      • Unani News
    • Yoga
      • Yoga Guidelines
      • Yoga News
  • State News
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
    • Andhra Pradesh
    • Arunachal Pradesh
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chandigarh
    • Chattisgarh
    • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
    • Daman and Diu
    • Delhi
    • Goa
    • Gujarat
    • Haryana
    • Himachal Pradesh
    • Jammu & Kashmir
    • Jharkhand
    • Karnataka
    • Kerala
    • Ladakh
    • Lakshadweep
    • Madhya Pradesh
    • Maharashtra
    • Manipur
    • Meghalaya
    • Mizoram
    • Nagaland
    • Odisha
    • Puducherry
    • Punjab
    • Rajasthan
    • Sikkim
    • Tamil Nadu
    • Telangana
    • Tripura
    • Uttar Pradesh
    • Uttrakhand
    • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
    • Ayush Education News
    • Dentistry Education News
    • Medical Admission News
    • Medical Colleges News
    • Medical Courses News
    • Medical Universities News
    • Nursing education News
    • Paramedical Education News
    • Study Abroad
  • Industry
    • Health Investment News
    • Health Startup News
    • Medical Devices News
    • Pharma News
      • CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation) News
    • Pharmacy Education News
    • Industry Perspective
  • Home
  • Radiology
  • Radiology News
  • CAC score predicts...

CAC score predicts heart attacks, strokes in patients with stable chest pain: Study

Written By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2024-03-09T03:00:13+05:30  |  Updated On 9 March 2024 4:08 PM IST
NEET Aspirant Dies of Suspected Heart Attack at Tea Stall in Kota.
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Email

Germany: A recent study published in Radiology revealed that coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring with CT can identify symptomatic patients with a very low risk of heart attacks or strokes.

The study found that in participants with stable chest pain initially referred for invasive coronary angiography (ICA), a CAC score of 0 showed very low risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), and higher CAC scores showed increasing risk of obstructive CAD, revascularization, and MACE at follow-up.

Researchers said the findings may one day help some patients with stable chest pain avoid invasive coronary angiography.

Coronary artery calcium scoring with CT was developed to noninvasively measure the amount of calcium in the arteries of the heart. Higher scores are linked with atherosclerosis, a buildup of plaque in the arteries. A score of 1 to 399, for instance, suggests a moderate amount of plaque, while 400 or higher indicates a large plaque burden.

“Coronary artery calcium is a strong and independent predictor of cardiovascular events,” said study first author Federico Biavati, an M.D./Ph.D. candidate in the BIOQIC research training group and a radiology resident at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. “The presence of coronary artery calcification indicates that atherosclerosis may have been present for some time.”

The complete absence of coronary calcifications, on the other hand, is a good indicator of the absence of advanced atherosclerosis. However, the role of coronary artery calcium in patients with stable chest pain is less clear. Stable chest pain is a temporary but recurring condition triggered by stress, exercise or cold weather.

Under the direction of Marc Dewey, M.D., professor and vice chair of radiology at Charité, Biavati and colleagues assessed the prognostic value of coronary artery calcium scoring for major adverse cardiovascular events in 1,749 individuals, mean age 60. The participants were drawn from the DISCHARGE trial, a research project involving 26 centers in 16 European countries. Participants had stable chest pain and had been referred for invasive coronary angiography, a procedure in which a catheter is threaded to the heart under X-ray guidance. A contrast agent is then injected through the catheter to help doctors visualize the arteries of the heart.

The researchers stratified the patients into low-, intermediate- and high-risk categories based on their coronary artery calcium scores. They followed the participants for an average of 3.5 years and recorded any major adverse cardiovascular events.

People with a coronary artery calcium score of zero showed very low risk of major adverse cardiovascular events at follow-up. Only four of the 755 participants in the group, or 0.5%, had a major adverse cardiovascular event during the follow-up period. The group also had a low risk of only 4.1% for obstructive coronary artery disease.

“This finding may indicate that a zero coronary artery calcium score can play a larger role in patient management strategies,” Dr. Dewey said. “The findings suggest that patients with stable chest pain and a coronary artery calcium score of zero may not require invasive coronary angiography using cardiac catheterization because the risk of cardiovascular events is so low.”

There were 14 events in the 743 participants with a 1 to 399 coronary artery calcium score, for a risk of 1.9%. The 251 participants in the 400 and higher coronary artery calcium score group had 17 events for a significantly higher risk of 6.8%. The researchers found no evidence of a difference between sexes for major adverse cardiovascular events.

Despite the findings, the researchers said that further study is needed before coronary artery calcium scoring can be used to exclude patients from coronary CT angiography.

This is the second article published in Radiology from the DISCHARGE trial, the largest cardiac trial on chest pain. The first article, Effect of Body Mass Index on Effectiveness of CT versus Invasive Coronary Angiography in Stable Chest Pain: The DISCHARGE Trial, found that when patients suspected of having coronary artery disease were stratified by body mass index category, no differences in clinical outcomes were observed between those who underwent initial management with CT and those who underwent invasive coronary angiography.

Reference:

Federico Biavati, Luca Saba, Melinda Boussoussou, Klaus F. Kofoed, Theodora Benedek, Patrick Donnelly, José Rodríguez-Palomares, Andrejs Erglis, Cyril Štěchovský, Gintarė Šakalytė, Nada Čemerlić Ađić, Matthias Gutberlet, Coronary Artery Calcium Score Predicts Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Stable Chest Pain, Radiology, https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.231557.

RadiologyRadiological Society of North AmericaCoronary artery calciumheart attackstrokecoronary angiographymajor adverse cardiovascular events
Source : Radiology
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

Show Full Article
Next Story

Editorial

Real-World Case study: Darbepoetin Alfa for Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia in Metastatic Breast Cancer - Dr Aditya Murali

Real-World Case study: Darbepoetin Alfa for Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia in Metastatic Breast Cancer...

Aspirin in Primary Prevention- When to Consider?

Aspirin in Primary Prevention- When to Consider?

Featured image representing medico legal

What's the Role of Expert Opinion in Medical Negligence?

7- Point Discharge Protocol for AECOPD: Time to Inculcate in Practice

7- Point Discharge Protocol for AECOPD: Time to Inculcate in Practice

Aspirin Use in Women Aged 40-50 with Diabetes and Hypertension: Identifying the Ideal Candidates

Aspirin Use in Women Aged 40-50 with Diabetes and Hypertension: Identifying the Ideal Candidates

View All

Journal Club Today

Real-World Case study: Darbepoetin Alfa for Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia in Metastatic Breast Cancer - Dr Aditya Murali

Real-World Case study: Darbepoetin Alfa for Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia in Metastatic Breast Cancer...

View All

Health News Today

Health Bulletin 09/ May/ 2025

Health Bulletin 09/ May/ 2025

View All
© 2022 All Rights Reserved.
Powered By: Hocalwire
X
We use cookies for analytics, advertising and to improve our site. You agree to our use of cookies by continuing to use our site. To know more, see our Cookie Policy and Cookie Settings.Ok